Grindhouse Ground Down by the Weinsteins

The Weinstein brothers were as surprised as anyone when they learned of the lackluster ticket sales for Grindhouse, the combined b-movie effort of directors Robert Rodriguez (Sin City) and Quentin Tarrantino (Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2). While the film was expected to make up its fifty plus million dollar budget during its opening weekend, the film debuted in fourth place and only took in a little over eleven million dollars. But the Weinstein brothers apparently had a contingency plan in place for just such an occurrence: release Planet Terror from Robert Rodriguez and Death Proof from Quentin Tarrantino as two separate films.

This was already the creative decision made for most overseas markets, justified by how much more money the film would earn as two separate releases rather than one three hour and fifteen minute opus of schlocky horror and twisted humor.

The Weinstein Brothers believe that Grindhouse failed because the marketing behind it was not as clear as could be. While the film played well to both the east and west coast as well as most major cities, much of the nation was left befuddled as to what they should expect. It was well reported that many people actually left the theater after seeing the first film, Planet Terror, not realizing that a second feature, Death Proof, would follow after parody trailors from Rob Zombie (The Devil's Rejects), Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead) and Eli Roth (Hostel). Apparently, the advertising was not clear enough to draw in the big crowds over Easter weekend to the Grindhouse.

Grindhouse also had other obstacles to overcome. The three hour and fifteen minute running time is a marathon viewing for sure, but that alone cannot explain the tepid response from audiences. Millions flocked to see films close to the same length in Titanic and the Lord of the Rings trilogy, so length alone cannot be to blame. Another obstacle for Grindhouse was the fact that it wasn't a continued narrative. While there are recurring actors, characters, and even direct references to both films in Death Proof and Planet Terror, the story is not continuous. The audience is thrown from over the top gore, action, and one-liners in Rodriguez's Planet Terror to deliberately paced dialogue, characterizations, and car stunts in Tarrantino's Death Proof. The final hurdle combined many factors, and Grindhouse was not marketed well enough to overcome it: the film was displayed as a straight horror film. The reality is that Grindhouse is equal parts homage, parody, exploitation, and comedy based around traditional horror elements, in this case the zombie film and the slasher film. The release over a religious holiday weekend, Easter weekend, might not have been as disastrous if the simple fact that the Grindhouse was not a straight horror film had been advertised more than sensationalist images of scantily clad women and gunned down creatures.

Grindhouse is likely to turn a profit in the long run, but the Weinstein brothers are willing to admit that they made a big mistake with the release, hopefully to be overcome when the films are re-released at a theater near you, but not on the same weekend.

Source:
"Grindhouse to be Split in Two?" IMDB.com. 11 April 2007. http://imdb.com/news/wenn/2007-04-11/#3>